Edward Bunyard is remembered forhis book, The Anatomy of Dessert, acelebration of all the fruits grown inEngland during the inter-war years,but he was far more than a ‘fruitgourmet’ as he is often titled. Bunyardwas a nurseryman, head of the familybusiness at Allington, outsideMaidstone, and also a pomologist,rosarian, prolific writer and pillar ofthe Royal Horticultural Society, amember of its Council and numerouscommittees. The Nursery, founded in1796, had been set on its feet duringthe 1880s and 1890s by Edward’sfather, George, who established itsreputation for fruit. Edward joined thebusiness in 1896 and took over thereins when his father died in theinfluenza epidemic of 1919. He andhis younger brother, Norman,maintained its pre-eminence for fruitand place at the leading edge of thetrade through the wide range ofvarieties the Nursery sold, spectaculardisplays staged throughout the year atshows and exhibitions and Edward’snumerous articles in the gardeningpress, his books and imaginativemarketing strategy.

He targeted the burgeoning numbers ofamateur, leisure gardeners by appealingto their aspirations, promoting fruit forthe epicure who cared more about its

taste than its crops.

Luscious Kirke’s Blue plum, forinstance, was ‘rather a shy bearer buttoo good to omit on that. Edwardcontinued to sell the old varieties andre-popularised ’lost’ ones, such as hisfavourite, Orleans Reinette. Thisaccorded with his search for qualitywhich often lay with the old varietiesand his campaign against thereduction of choice in the marketplace.

Edward pushed his point homethrough his writings, particularly inThe Anatomy of Dessert (1929); theterm then referred specifically to thefinale of fresh fruit. His epicureanapproach extended even to sales ofvegetable seeds through a bookletentitled ‘Vegetables for Epicures’published annually during the 1930s.Fine fruits and vegetables found aplace also in The Epicure’sCompanion (1937), a compendium ofideas and anecdotes on the pleasuresof the table which he produced incollaboration with his sister Lorna andadditional help from sisters, Frances,the artist, and Marguerite.

Bunyard was first and foremost anurseryman, but he always styledhimself a pomologist. His position as

Britain’s leading authority on fruitvarieties, secured by his Handbook ofHardy Fruits (1920,1925), gaveprestige to the Nursery’s reputation inselling trees ‘true to type’, but hisgreatest, lasting legacy in this field,aside from the Handbook, is theNational Fruit Collection at Brogdalein Kent, the largest collection oftemperate fruits in the world, growing on one site. Bunyard, as a member ofthe RHS Council, initiated and helpedset up the Commercial Trials at RHSWisley Garden in 1922. Fundedjointly by the RHS and the Ministry of

Kent GardensTrust

Kent Gardens Trust

Issue No 35 Spring 2010

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Registered Charity No. 298861

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FRUIT FRUIT FRUIT FRUITThis issue celebrates Kent’s great tradition of fruit growing with two articles on fruit. The first by Joan

Morgan, the celebrated writer and authority on the history of the fruit and vegetable garden, is aboutJohn Bunyard of Maidstone, one of the most influential horticulturists of his time. The second is by Tom LaDell, a trustee of KGT who is closely involved with the Brogdale Collections Appeal which aims to promote

and safeguard the National Fruit Collection at Brogdale, near Faversham. Kent has been the centre of fruit growing in England since at least Tudor times and still has 80% of its orchards. On 25th April we shall be visiting Brogdale in blossom time when Joan and Tom will tell us more about the fruit collection.I hope that many of you will join us and support the Brogdale project. Elizabeth Cairns

EDWARD BUNYARD 1878-1939: NURSERYMAN OF ALLINGTON, KENT

Edward Bunyard (1878-1939).

Agriculture, its aim was to evaluatefruit varieties for the commercialgrower. Side by side with the Trials, atBunyard’s insistence, a collection offruit varieties was begun as a living‘reference library’ so that thosesubmitted for trial could be checked tomake sure they were not an old oneunder a new name. The collectionsmoved to Brogdale Farm nearFaversham in the 1950s to become theMinistry’s National Fruit Trials withBunyard’s protegee, Jock Potter, asdirector until his retirement in 1972.The Trials closed in 1989, but theDefra Collection now comprises over4,500 varieties of apples, pears,plums, cherries, vines, nuts quincesmedlars, currants and gooseberries.This enduring tribute to Bunyard andPotter’s determination and foresightforms the nation’s contribution toglobal conservation of food crops. It isthe envy of the world and has beenopen to the public since 1990.

During the 1930s Bunyard’s collectingpassion was roses and in particular oldfashioned, so-called, European roses:the ancient gallicas, damasks, albas,and centifolias or cabbage roses.Bunyard was responsible in a largemeasure for their rehabilitation intogardens through his book Old GardenRoses (1935) and because he soldthem through the Nursery. Bunyardfired the imagination of Vita SackvilleWest at Sissinghurst who planted herown garden of old roses in 1937. Herdiaries record that she turned toBunyard for advice and he came tolunch at least once at Sissinghurst. TheNursery also supplied roses to otherpioneering collectors - LawrenceJohnson at Hidcote and Helen Muir atKiftsgate both in Gloucestershire andConstance Spry, who began hercollection at Chelsfield, nearOrpington in Kent. Through contactwith enthusiasts who were welcomingold roses back into their gardensBunyard discovered lost varieties andas with fruit, his studies to establishthe identity of a rose took him to theliterature and also paintings,. It seemshe never failed to fit in a visit to an artgallery on his trips abroad andexplore their collections ofRenaissance masters and the Dutchflower painters. Gratifyingly hispainstaking research substantiated thegenetic studies on old roses that werethen being undertaken. Outside his professional life, Edward

was a pianist, keen photographer,linguist of some talent and he delightedin good conversation, food and wine.His apprenticeship in Paris in thenursery trade as a young man hadgiven him a love of France, its cuisineand wines that led to membership ofLondon’s leading dining clubs andrestaurants, such as Boulestin’s inCovent Garden; Marcel Boulestinwrote an introduction to one of theissues of ‘Vegetables for Epicures’.

By the late 1930s he was living thehigh life, visiting Florence every yearand we hear of trips on the Blue Train,from Calais to Nice, to enjoy the rosesand company of the Riviera gardeningset. The drain on his income musthave been significant and there werehis hobbies of antiquarian books andfine wines, let alone expensesincurred on behalf of the RHS and thetime that it took him away from theNursery. All this may have contributed

to the terrible circumstances of hisdeath. Bunyard shot himself on 19October 1939 in the Royal SocietiesClub, his London club, in SaintJames’s. The explanation given for hissuicide was financial trouble and hedied virtually penniless. His death wasall the more tragic given his immenseachievements. But his enthusiasm andscholarship live on in his books, theNational Fruit Collection and theNational Trust’s collection ofroses at Montisfont Abbeymade by Graham StuartThomas, who tooacknowledged a debt ofgratitude to Bunyard.

Joan Morgan

A biography of Edward Bunyard waspublished in 2007: The DownrightEpicure; essays on Edward Bunyard,edited by Edward Wilson, publishedby Prospect Books; main contributorsEdward Wilson and Joan Morgan.

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A tunnel of pears probably grown at the Allington Nursery.

The history of fruit growing in gardensis an ancient story. Fruit was probablycultivated around dwellings longbefore purely decorative plants. Fruitis produced on trees, shrubs,herbaceous perennials and annuals sothey have a place in every gardenhowever large or small.

Productive fruit plants were regardedas ornamental and an essential part ofthe garden until the creation of,usually walled, kitchen gardens in the18th century. We should not thinkthey were banished from the garden asthey were considered unattractive.They did not suit the Englishlandscape park or later flower gardensthat developed in the 19th century.Owners were, though, proud of theirkitchen garden both for their layoutand display and their superb andsophisticated horticulture. They werean essential part of the tour of anygarden and landscape and admired asmuch as the latest acquisitions in afashionable pinetum or border.

Fruit was an essential part of the dietof the household and would be usedto impress guests with unusual fruit,perfect specimens and out of season.Fresh fruit at the end of a meal is anItalian tradition that became theheight of fashion in the 19th century.While the development of fruitvarieties, new crops and cultivationdeveloped in larger gardens fruit wasgrown by everyone to supplementdiets of grains and green vegetableswhere meat was scarce. We nowknow that fruit is exceptionally goodfor you in a balanced diet. It is full ofvitamins, minerals and fibres sonecessary for the relativelycomfortable and sedentary lives thatwe now lead.

The oldest surviving garden in Europeis the mosque garden in Cordoba fromaround 982. It is a delightful courtyardof orange trees on the same grid as thecolumns on the mosque. Moorish andArab influenced gardens were alsocommon in Sicily and this fashionspread north in Italy in medievaltimes. They were a major influence onthe development of the Italianrenaissance garden from the 1400sonwards. Those gardens were mainlyformal designs with a lot of box edgedformal shapes (which originated in

Roman gardens) with dwarfed fruittrees in them.

The fashion for these gardens movednorth to France, the Netherlands andBritain and fruit plants were essentialin their design and use. As trainingbecame more sophisticated it couldbe used to show off the owner’s skillsas espaliers, cordons, arches, baskets,tables and many other shapes. Thisreached its peak at Versailles whereLouis XIV had relegated the fruit andvegetables to the Potager du Roi,round the corner from the maingardens. The surviving garden atWestbury Court, Gloucestershire isfrom the early 1700s. It still retains theDutch influence and has espalieredfruit trees on the walls in the maingarden.

With the development of walledkitchen gardens, on the Versaillesmodel, in Victorian Britain all thewalls were covered in trained fruittrees. Exotic fruits were grown inglasshouses, including peaches andpineapples.

These kitchen gardens had a greatvariety of apples, pears, plums,cherries and other fruits. They weredeveloped by mainly Britishnurseryman to give the longestpossible season of quality fruits forgrowers. Most of these are growing inthe National Fruit Collection atBrogdale Farm.

Brogdale Farm is just south ofFaversham, in the North Kent FruitBelt, and is home to the National FruitCollection. This is a collection of fruitvarieties as living and fruiting treesand it is the most comprehensive andbest documented in the world.

This is of great interest to gardenersand garden historians as the varietiesgo back over hundreds of years andthey can be propagated for historicgarden restoration and communityorchards based on local varieties. Thevarieties for the restoration of the early18th century garden at Westbury Courtin Gloucestershire, in the 1970s, camefrom the National Fruit Collection andthe plum stones from the Mary Rose,the Tudor warship, were identifiedwith reference to the NFC.

The National Fruit Collection belongsto the nation and Defra (Departmentfor Environment, Food and RuralAffairs) run it. Defra’s interest is in thegenetic resources of the varieties forbreeding fruit crops for the future.These are needed so that we canrespond to climate and environmentalchange, pests and diseases anddevelop cultivation techniques usingtraditional and new varieties suited tothe new conditions. As a gene bank, ithas international status as part of theUK’s contribution to the UnitedNations’ International Treaty on theConservation of Plant GeneticResources.

THE NATIONAL FRUIT COLLECTION

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The Apple Collection

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The number of varieties is amazing.There are 2,200 apples, 650 pears,320 plums, 300 cherries and smallercollections of grapes, cobnuts, ciderapples and perry pears, quinces,medlars, apricots, currants andgooseberries. Within the Collectionsthere is a great diversity of apples thatare eating, cooking and cidervarieties, plums that include eating,cooking, gages, mirabelles andquetsches while the cherries includesweet ones, morellos and the old, sourKent duke cherries.

They came to the collections frommany different countries and nowpropagation material is sent toresearch stations around the world.

There is a long history in Britain ofcollecting fruit varieties, even from theearly days of the Royal HorticulturalSociety two hundred years ago. Thecollections were brought together in1952 in a new research station atBrogdale. This is detailed in JoanMorgan’s article on Edward Bunyard.When this was closed in 1990 theNational Fruit Collection was kept forthe nation. It is now managed forDefra by Reading University. TheCollections are managed by the

charity Brogdale Collections(www.brogdalecollections.co.uk).

There are guided tours of theCollections from April to Novemberand three fruit festivals this year,Cherry, Cider and Apple. At thefestivals there are free tastings, as manyvarieties as possible are available tobuy, local produce and crafts are soldand there are the usual familyattractions. These are held over aweekend and there are also day eventsfor the blossom, soft fruit, plums andKentish cobnuts. The farm also has apermanent Market Place with shopsselling local foods and crafts.

Brogdale Collections has plans toexpand the visitor attraction to tell thestory of the Collections and the historyof fruit growing. It will create a seriesof a dozen gardens showing how fruitcultivation developed in gardens frommedieval times to the present day.Cultivated fruits were developed fromwild species, often originating in someunexpected countries, and we can usethe old varieties in the Collections toshow how modern ones havedeveloped from them. Were the olderones better or is this just a memory?Brogdale will let people answer this forthemselves. There are many ways to

grow fruit, from the big standard treesof the traditional orchards to the dwarftrees that are planted now. But theseare not so new, they were known in16th century Italian gardens!

The visitor centre will explain theCollections in depth and thewonderful stories associated withmany of the varieties. Some were bredby nurserymen but many others werefound in gardens or by roadsides.Brogdale is also about the future andwe will explain the geneticsunderlying plant breeding and that theprinciples of the genetics is prettymuch the same for humans. With somany attractive and tasty varieties thecharity will work to interest people inthe value of fruit in a healthy diet andthe current debates about what weshould eat.

This is a unique opportunity to use theNational Fruit Collection to do somuch more than just be a geneticresource. It is part of Kent’s heritage.

More information is available onwww.brogdalecollections.co.uk andon fruit generally, and the Friends ofthe National Trust Collection atBrogdale, at www.fruitforum.net .

Tom La Dell

Thirty-eight members of the KentGardens Trust arrived at Cobham Hallon a very wet morning in October,2009. We gathered in the Library whereour Chairman, Elizabeth Cairns, greetedus with the sad news that our lecturer,Tom Wright, the well-known gardensexpert from Wye College, wasindisposed. Tom had been muchinvolved in the work of reclaiming thegardens of Cobham Hall and some of itstrees following the considerable damageby the disastrous storm of 1987.

Sylvia Hammond, one of the guides atCobham Hall and a member of theFriends of Cobham Hall Heritage Trust,and armed with an excellent set ofslides and a great love of the place, hadvolunteered to take over. We all

enjoyed her talk on its history andthe changes that had takenplace. The early Cobham

family had lived in the ManorHouse and farmed the estate.They are especially re-

membered by the magnificent setof memorial brasses (said to be

the best in England) in the church there,starting with Joan de Cobham who diedcirca 1310. In 1362 Sir John deCobham founded a College of a Masterand four priests to say Masses for thesouls of his ancestors. This building,which was next to the church, wasadapted in 1595 to form 20 almshouseswhich still exist today.

William, 10th Lord Cobham, begandeveloping the house in 1580, first withthe building of the long south wing, thenthe north wing of equal length. He thenbegan changes to the central block. Ayear after their completion the 11th LordCobham forfeited his title and estateafter he and his brother had plotted toput Lady Arabella Stuart on the throne.There was to be no more building atCobham for a further 60 years.

The Dukes of Lennox and Richmondinherited the house in 1661. The centreblock was built by 6th Duke and thework included the elaborate gildedceiling of the great hall – where welater all enjoyed our lunch.! We saw

there a copy of the van Dyck portrait ofthe Lords Bernard and John Stuart, sonsof the 3rd Duke, both killed in the CivilWar. The original is in the NationalGallery.

In the eighteenth century the ownersreceived the title of the Earls ofDarnley, Humphry Repton being laterasked to improve the grounds. His RedBook for Cobham was made in 1790.This was explained by our nextspeaker, Stephen Daniels, Professor ofCultural Geography at the University ofNottingham, who has written anexcellent book on Repton’s works.Repton had been set up as a merchantby his parents but had little financialsuccess. On their death he expendedhis legacy on a small estate where hestudied its landscape, noting how itcould be improved. He had alwaysenjoyed drawing and began sketchingout possible improvements. Whenasked by landowners what waspossible he used to demonstrate theseskills to show the landscape as it wasand then draw his suggested changeson a flap that could be placed in front

VISIT BY MEMBERS TO COBHAM HALL

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showing how such changes wouldimprove the aspect.

This was the basis for Repton’s famousRed Books and I was most interested tosee a copy of this for Cobham Hall,together with a copy of his trade card.Repton was not impressed by all thelong avenues of trees that radiated fromthe Hall and had all removed except theone that runs SW towards the villageand leading to the entrance. He advisedthe softening of the appearance of thehouse with climbing plants. Roses andclematis flourished on the Hall walls,scenting many of the rooms. Changeswere made to Lady Darnley’s garden,further areas of planting laid out and thepools enlarged. Many trees and a greatvariety of species were planted. Reptonworked intermittently at Cobham for 25years, frequently returning with furthersuggestions for change.

In the afternoon a small group enjoyeda garden tour with the Estate Manager,Major Terry Curran, whilst the rest ofthe party visited the recently restoredDarnley Mausoleum. Thomas Wyattdesigned this quite magnificentMausoleum for the 3rd Earl of Darnleyin 1783. (It was said that only LordCarlisle of Castle Howard had a moremagnificent one.) It contains spaces for32 coffins but these were never used

because of a dispute with the Bishop ofRochester when he inspected it at thebehest of the 3rd Earl. It was thus neverconsecrated and fell into disrepair aftercenturies of neglect.

With the break-up of the estate in1957 and the construction of the M2in 1968 the Mausoleum wasfrequently vandalised. The worstattack was on Guy Fawkes’ night in1980 when the crypt was packed withpetrol cans and tyres ignited, reducingthe interior to a ruin. Compensationmoney came when the Channel

Tunnel Railway was built through thenorthern edge of the Park. Thisbrought about the decision ofGravesham Borough Council, EnglishHeritage, National Trust, Kent CountyCouncil, the Woodland Trust andCobham Hall to work together. Therestored Mausoleum was handed overto Gravesham Council and theNational Trust in 2009 and is nowopen to the public on certain days.The work won the Country Life Awardof the Year in 2009 and it certainly hasbeen beautifully restored.

Mary Starbuck

Trade card of Humphry Repton

A big thank you goes out to TomTurner on behalf of the Kent GardensTrust, for a fascinating lecture ongarden history from 2000BC to2000AD.

Tom explained garden history and thedevelopment of garden design fromthe beginning (22000BC!)) in relationto the features of the design ofSissinghurst. He showed howavenues, orchards and garden featureshad their origins long ago and theyhave kept their basic forms throughouthistory.

The lecture focused on differentcountries and individual imputs andfashions into garden design. FromEgypt and West Asia to Europe andthe Americas. He traced thedevelopment of art, philosophy andthe social use of outdoor space. Theorigins of western garden design are to

be found in the Middle East (WestAsia)with later influences from aroundthe world. After around 1800 theinfluence of western garden designphilosophy became worldwide, asdid, in reverse, the influence of thewider world on Europe.

Tom Turner referred to his bookGarden History which traces thephilosophy of garden design, toAncient Greece and Rome, andespecially to the work of Plato andVitruvius and on to the diversity ofWest Asian and Chinese traditions.

The lecture was held at LenhamCommunity Centre from 19:000 -21:000, with a friendly atmosphere,people of all ages and interests withinhorticulture, from professionallandscape architects to gardenenthusiasts. The evening started offwith wine and a home made buffet

with wide variety of nibbles, finishedoff with some festive mini mince pies!To read more:http:////wwww.gardenvisit.com

Lydia Wood

“Garden History Philosophy andDesign 2000 BC to 2000 AD” (SponPress 2005: ISBN 0415317487) TomTurner’s book is available to buy inpaper back for £25 on Amazon.

TOM TURNER GARDEN HISTORY LECTURE

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Kent Gardens TrustTel. 01233 811611

email mail@kentgardenstrust.org.ukwebsite: www.kentgardenstrust.org.uk

Page 6 Kent Gardens TrustPrinted by Crown Print, Wye 01233 812983

Listening to bumblebees buzzingaround our lavenders and buddleia ischaracteristic of a sunny summer’s dayspent in our gardens. Without thesebeautiful endearing insects, life in ourgardens would not be the same.

Over the last 60-70 years 98% of ourwildflower meadows have been lost dueto agricultural intensification. Thischange in our countryside has haddramatic consequences on ourbumblebees. Two species have beendeclared extinct and many others areexperiencing rapid declines. The loss ofthese important pollinators would notonly impact our countryside andgardens, but would devastate ourcommercial agricultural industry whichis heavily reliant upon the pollinatingservices provided by bees.

The Bumblebee Conservation Trust isworking hard to conserve our nativebumblebees. Along with projectpartners Natural England, RSPB andHymettus is due to release an extinctspecies, the short-haired bumblebee,this summer at Dungeness in Kent.Habitat creation and restoration, alongwith wildlife gardening is key to thesuccess of this reintroduction. Eachindividual gardener can play a vital rolein conserving these furry creatures.Gardens make up over one millionhectares in the UK. They provide greatlyneeded foraging habitat for bees andthey can help to ensure their futuresurvival.

To help protect our bumblebees pleaseconsider your garden planting schemes.Bumblebees need flowers from March toSeptember, by planting the right kind offlowers you will be providing pollen andnectar to help our bumblebees thrive.Traditional cottage garden flowers andnative wildflowers are ideal bee-friendlyplants, and look superb in borderdisplays. Plants such as bluebells,lupins, foxgloves, viper’s bugloss,buddleia, catmint, delphiniums andlavender are perfect for providing ourbumblebees with plenty of food.

Hazel Jackson

For more information on ourconservation work and flowers forbumblebees, please visit our website:www.bumblebeeconservation.org

In October the Research Group puttheir newly acquired skills to the testat St Ronan’s School near Hawkhurst.With the kind support andencouragement of the HeadmasterWilliam Trelawney-Vernon and theBursar John Buckle the groupresearched the site, carried out a fullsurvey and wrote up the results in areport which complies with the formatused by English Heritage for sites onthe Register of Parks and Gardens.Their efforts were given constructivecriticism by Virginia Hinze and thefinal version will be submitted toTunbridge Wells Borough Council forinclusion in the Kent Compendium ofParks and Gardens.

Terrace at St Ronan’s

St. Ronan’s, which was formerlyknown as Tongswood was found tohave a long and interesting historygoing back to the 16th century. Thegarden was mainly created in the early20th century with formal lawns andterraces, a large rock garden whichwas much admired at the time and apinetum.

The Tunbridge Wells research projecthas been a great success resulting inthe creation of up to date records of28 sites in the borough, a group oftrained researchers and a blueprint forfuture research projects elsewhere inKent. I certainly enjoyed the trainingand events enormously and so, I think,did the other members of the group.

I am delighted to report thatSevenoaks Council has asked usto carry out a similar project for

them and we are now waitingfor information on the sites

which should be researched.Elizabeth Cairns

THE PARKS AND GARDENS UK DATABASEwww.parksandgardensuk

Two years ago I reported on this ambitious project to create a website which wouldprovide access to a database containing information on about 7,000 parks, gardensand designed landscapes. The project was initially funded by a Lottery grant of £1million which has been used to design and create the website and to enter details ofabout 4,000 sites. Additional funding was found which has allowed the project tocontinue until June 2010 and it is hoped the money will be found to enable it tocontinue to develop.

The website is well worth a visit. The records of all parks and gardens which are onthe English Heritage Register are already on the database and there is a steady flow ofinformation on other gardens. In addition to information on the gardens themselves itcontains details on garden designers, owners and plant collectors, articles and researchand many entries on particular aspects of garden history.

Individual Gardens Trusts are invited to contribute more information to the databaseand some of our research volunteers participated in a training day last year to showthem how this is done. I hope that we will soon get a programme of putting records ofthe many interesting gardens in Kent under way. Naturally owners will be consultedbefore details of their properties are put onto the database but those who open theirgardens to the public may find that having an entry on Parks and Gardens UK will bea good way of getting additional publicity.

Anyone who is interested in having details of their garden on the database shouldplease contact me.

Elizabeth Cairns

Short haired bumblebee (Bombussubterranus) Photo Andy Tebbs

Gardening for our Bumblebees VOLUNTEERS